OWINGS MILLS, MD - MAY 23: Running back Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens pauses while addressing a news conference with his wife Janay at the Ravens training center on May 23, 2014 in Owings Mills, Maryland. Rice spoke publicly for the first time since facing felony assault charges stemming from a February incident involving Janay at an Atlantic City casino. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Ravens running back Ray Rice and his wife Janay made statements to the news media May 5, 2014, at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md, regarding his assault charge for knocking her unconscious in a New Jersey casino. On Monday, Sept. 9, 2014, Rice was let go from the Baltimore Ravens after a video surfaced from TMZ showing the incident. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/MCT via Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 16: Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the bench against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of their preseason game at AT&T Stadium on August 16, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 16: Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens smiles during warm ups before their game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on August 16, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

OWINGS MILLS, MD - MAY 23: Baltimore Ravens assistant director of public relations Patrick M. Gleason holds the door as running back Ray Rice enter a news conference followed by his wife Janay Rice and Ravens team President Dick Cass at the Ravens training center on May 23, 2014 in Owings Mills, Maryland. Rice spoke publicly for the first time since facing felony assault charges stemming from a February incident involving Janay at an Atlantic City casino. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Maine Governor Paul LePage in his office at the State House in Augusta. LePage, who was beaten by his father when he was young and has made domestic abuse prevention and awareness a priority of his administration, wrote a scathing letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the controversial two-game suspension levied on Ray Rice after a domestic incident involving his wife at a N.J. hotel.

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's battered wife is now blaming the media for her family's problems.

The condemnation came early Tuesday morning in an apparent statement posted to Janay Rice's now-private Instagram account. She accuses the media of ruining their life and causing unnecessary pain and embarrassment.

Janay Rice's angry words came in the wake of her husband being cut from the Ravens and banished from the NFL after video of him bashing her in the face and dragging her out of an Atlantic City elevator earlier this year was made public.

"I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend," wrote Janay Rice. "But to have to accept the fact is a reality is a nightmare in itself."

Steelers cornerback William Gay: "We're talking about a life, I don't care about a sport when it comes down to domestic violence. This is real. Someone can lose their life to it."

Gay's mother, Carolyn, was shot and killed by Gay's stepfather in Tallahassee, Florida, when Gay was 7 years old. He volunteers at the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh and is an advocate for domestic violence victims.

"We need to do everything we can to help Ray Rice because we don't need to run away from him and say he's evil."

"Am I happy the NFL has taken a harder stance? ... I mean, there is no excuse for abuse. I really believe that."

Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine, who called the video "deeply disturbing, especially as a father that has two daughters":

"There's just no place for that behavior in our society."

Adding he wasn't surprised that Rice was cut after Petting saw the video, he was asked if he could coach a player involved in something similar: "You don't want to ever talk in absolutes, but it would be really difficult," he said.

"If my daughter was to get hit like that from another man, I'd have a serious problem with it. So I wish him the best, but it's no place for that. I don't care if you're a football player, a professional athlete or anything, a regular man or anything, there's no place for that - striking a woman."

"The video of Ray Rice punching his fiancee in the elevator is a graphic illustration of what goes on behind closed doors every day in this country. In my years as a prosecutor and judge, I never saw such explicit videotape evidence of domestic violence. Today, by acting quickly and decisively, and in suspending Ray Rice and terminating his contract, the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens sent a powerful message that domestic violence will not be tolerated.

Coach Kyle Flood of Rutgers, where Rice attended...

"Family is family, but at Rutgers we hold ourselves to an extremely high standard, and we expect a lot out of our players, and we expect a lot out of the coaches and the staff that we have here ... we expect a lot out of our alumni. I think because of those expectations, this is a sad day.

"Ray will always be a part of our family. The video I saw this morning was difficult to watch. As a husband and as a father, there's nothing that could justify what I saw on that video.

"This is a sad day for Ray and a sad day for Rutgers."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, who did not know whether President Barack Obama had seen the latest video ...

"This administration and this president do believe strongly that the scourge of violence against women is something that needs to be aggressively combatted ... We certainly welcome any strong signals by anyone in this country in support of that value," Earnest said.

Up Next

See Gallery

Discover More Like This

HIDE CAPTION

SHOW CAPTION

of

SEE ALL

BACK TO SLIDE

Janay Rice was also infamously quoted in a now-deleted tweet from the Ravens official Twitter account as saying she "she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident."

Husband Ray Rice's $35 million contract was terminated Monday only hours after TMZ made horrific new footage of the beating public.

The NFL then changed a two-game suspension initially given to Ray Rice to an indefinite ban.

League and team officials insist they never saw the new video, but another TMZ report on Tuesday insisted the two entities never asked the now-closed Revel Casino for the footage.